This invention relates generally to a hitch apparatus; more particularly, it relates to a hitch apparatus which may be conveniently mounted to a vehicle for use in hitching a trailer or the like and for lifting one end of the trailer with respect to the vehicle.
It is well known to load or unload a trailer used to transport heavy equipment, automobiles, etc. by placing ramps at the rear end of the trailer, so that the equipment may be rolled onto or off of the trailer. However, in the construction industry, for example, loading and unloading heavy-duty equipment such as a bulldozer, front loader, forklift, etc., can be time-consuming and bothersome, because at least two persons are required to lift and position the often bulky and cumbersome ramps next to the rear of the trailer. Another drawback of such a method is that specially constructed ramps are generally required for the trailer; and in many cases, ramps that fit one type of trailer could not conveniently be used on a different type of trailer.
One way of making it more convenient to load or unload equipment would be to elevate the hitch connection between the trailer and towing vehicle so as to tilt the entire equipment trailer; obviously, this would not only facilitate driving any equipment onto or off of the trailer, but it would also eliminate the need for custom-made trailer ramps. Moreover, this way of unloading a trailer could also be used to launch a boat into a lake or to dump materials from a trailer or the like. Unfortunately, many vehicles such as conventional pickup trucks or cars which might be used to tow equipment trailers, boat trailers, etc., are equipped with ball-like hitches that are fixedly anchored to the vehicle bumper, which is in turn rigidly mounted to the vehicle frame. Thus, there would be no easy way of tilting the trailer to facilitate unloading the contents thereof
In addition, this type of fixedly anchored hitch configuration creates another problem for persons attempting to connect the vehicle hitch to the trailer; namely, there is no convenient way of aligning the hitch structure of the vehicle with the towing tongue of the trailer so as to make the hitch connection. In other words, typically the driver of the towing vehicle must attempt--sometimes over and over again--to accurately position the vehicle so as to align the hitch (which he usually cannot see) with the towing structure of the trailer. And anyone who has tried to do this by himself knows that it is both very difficult and extremely frustrating to attempt to "blindly" align a hitch with a trailer.
Of course, there have been various prior art devices which have been designed to at least partially address some of the above set forth problems. Several of these devices, which might be classified as movable hitch assemblies, have been proposed for towing and maneuvering heavy trailers adapted to carry mobile home modular units and the like. Exemplary of such devices are those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,564,209 to Kingsley et al entitled "Trailer Hitch Assembly" and No. 3,891,239 to Leo et al entitled "Hydraulically Operated Hitch for Towing and Positioning Mobile Homes." The Kingsley '209 patent discloses a rather bulky and massive configuration adapted to be carried by a towing vehicle in a piggy-back fashion. The Kingsley hitch includes horizontal and vertical ram assemblies which have various rail and plate members for guiding it in a vertical or horizontal direction Regrettably, the Kingsley hitch is so heavy and cumbersome that the truck frame is required to be reinforced by a plurality of vertical stiffener and diagonal brace members All of this structural reinforcement to the heavy-duty truck is presumably necessary in order for Kingsley to tow mobile homes It should be clear that with such a mounting construction, it would be difficult to attach the Kingsley device to the rear of a conventional pickup truck--unless major modifications and reinforcements were made to the truck frame It would also be highly impractical to attempt to mount such a bulky device to the rear of a car in order to use it to lift one end of a boat trailer or the like.
Like the Kingsley patent, the Leo '239 patent also shows that the frame of his towing vehicle is reinforced, so that his hitch device can be mounted thereto. With this configuration, it is unlikely that the Leo hitch could readily be affixed to the back of a vehicle such as a conventional pickup truck--or car--without major modifications to the vehicle.
Another device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,086 to Bond et al entitled "Trailer Apparatus and Ground Support Therefore," addresses the need to elevate and tilt a trailer, so as to more easily dump the contents of the trailer However, the thrust of the Bond patent deals with a specially constructed trailer adapted to facilitate collecting, compacting, transporting and disposing solid waste material. Furthermore, the hitch of the Bond device is not adapted to be moved laterally with respect to the vehicle so as to facilitate aligning the hitch with the towing structure of the trailer. And a quick glance at FIGS. 1 and 5 of Bond's patent reveals that his hitch device could not easily be mounted to a conventional pickup truck without occupying a large portion of the space in the pickup bed.
One other prior art device, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,771,306 to Ash entitled "Power-Actuated Laterally and Vertically Adjustable Draft Means," serves as an auxiliary steering arrangement for vehicles such as tractors. The primary focus of the Ash '306 patent is that of providing a device which facilitates the steering of a tractor or the like while it is pulling a farm implement. The Ash device includes a draw bar to which a load such as a disk harrow or rotary plow is attached. The draw bar is forcibly moved sideways by a horizontally-acting motor, so that the line of application of the load is shifted laterally relative to the center of the towing vehicle. This complicated, multi-part apparatus is presumably constructed and adapted for compelling the vehicle to hold a desired direction of travel while pulling an implement such as a plow. However, with such a configuration, it is highly unlikely that Ash intended for his device to be mounted to the rear end of a pickup truck in order to pull a plow through a pasture or the like. In fact, Ash's device does not have any structure which could be attached to a conventional pickup truck.
While most of the above-described devices have been constructed for use in towing and positioning a trailer, mobile home, etc., it seems that the designers of these prior art devices have not given sufficient attention to the need for a hitching device which may conveniently be mounted to a vehicle such as a conventional pickup truck or car--without major modification thereto. Accordingly, there has remained the need for a modular, self-contained hitch apparatus which has a movable hitch, and which may easily be mounted to a conventional pickup truck, car, etc., so as to facilitate aligning the hitch structure in order to lift one end of the trailer. It is an object of this invention to provide such a modular hitch apparatus.
Another object is to provide a hitch apparatus which has a bumper-like configuration, so that it may be mounted to a conventional pickup truck, car, etc., without major modification to the frame of the vehicle.
One other object is to provide a hitch apparatus having movable members that are adapted to be retracted so as to be stowed and concealed within the hitch apparatus.
Still another object is to provide a hitch apparatus which has an actuating means that is also adapted to be concealed within the interior of the hitch apparatus.
One more object is to provide a means for anchoring the movable members of the hitch apparatus in an extended configuration so as to stabilize the hitch structure when it is in a raised position.
These and other objects will no doubt be apparent from a reading of the specification and claims, and from a study of the accompanying drawings illustrating certain facets of the invention.